President Donald Trump of the United States has never been known for his attention to the African continent, with the exception of unfortunate negative remarks that reverberate around the world. With the 2020 U.S. presidential race taking off, though, other candidates are starting to address the importance of Africa in…
Nigeria will enact strict tobacco control provisions that have been tabled for four years, according to its ministry of health, which publicly announced provisions on Friday in conjunction with World No Tobacco Day and the World Health Organization. The country’s national assembly ratified the 2015 National Tobacco Control Act provisions…
There are growing concerns that the Ebola crisis in Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 1,100 people have died since the outbreak was declared last August, will spill beyond its borders. “I’m just back from Congo and it is clear that the Ebola outbreak is getting worse, not better,…
Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, met Thursday with Ghassan Salamé, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to discuss the ongoing conflict over Tripoli. The meeting comes as the death toll in Libya…
There’s increasingly dire news from the nation of Mozambique in the wake of Cyclone Idai, which made landfall late Thursday near the port city of Beira, home to more than a half million people. In a statement to the nation on Monday, President Filipe Nyusi said 84 people are confirmed…
The World Wide Fund for Nature, accused by news media outlet Buzzfeed of funding anti-poaching paramilitary groups that kill and torture people in the fight to save wildlife, says it will take “swift action” if its own investigation finds the allegations to be true. The response followed a Buzzfeed story…
South Africa has issued the latest appeal to the international community to lift longstanding sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe in order to alleviate pressures contributing to its economic and political crises. “Zimbabwe has been going through a challenging socioeconomic situation, which has inadvertently had an impact on South Africa. We have…
A sharply divided United Nations Security Council discussed the political crisis in Venezuela during an emergency meeting called by the United States on Saturday, with the council’s African members pressing for a national dialogue and respect for Venezuelan sovereignty rather than the forced removal of President Nicolás Maduro. The contentious…
This isn’t the first time that Zimbabwe’s Pastor Evan Mawarire has been arrested. It’s not even the first time he’s been arrested for leading an economic protest because of gas prices and fuel shortages. Even as he appeared in court yet again Thursday morning in Harare, it’s clear that the…
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia welcomed on Monday the start of hearings by the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), formed to explore human rights violations that occurred during the 22-year rule of former dictator Yahya Jammeh. “As a key pillar of the transitional justice program of the…
Congolese opposition politicians are crying foul after a national electoral commission (CENI) decision announced Wednesday that will exclude three large cities and some 1.2 million voters from Sunday’s elections, on the grounds that the Ebola outbreak and community violence pose too much risk. CENI said that Beni, Butembo and Yumbi…
The Nigerian people were cheated out of an estimated USD$6 billion when a 2011 oil rights deal enriched its own officials but really benefited two international oil majors – Royal Dutch Shell and the Italian Eni – instead of Nigeria, according to a report released Monday by London-based NGO Global…
After weeks of investigation into the October 2 death of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, the United States said Tuesday that it stands by its relationship with Riyadh – a move that critics say gives a green light to repressive, authoritarian governments in Africa and across the globe….
A group of seven Congolese political opposition leaders announced their decision for a presidential candidate on Sunday, choosing Martin Fayulu of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development (ECiDé) party to face President Joseph Kabila’s own choice in the December 23 election. With the long-delayed date looming in Democratic Republic of Congo,…
A key climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released Monday warns that the global community must act decisively and dramatically to try and limit catastrophic impacts from climate change – and that some impacts remain unavoidable even if global warming is held to the 1.5°C level….